Liquid crystal display units (LCD) incorporate non-luminous display elements that must be illuminated by a backlight mounted behind the display surface. For example, an LCD stack (e.g., the layer or layers of liquid crystal display elements and their corresponding drive electronics) may be directly backlit by an array of light emitting diodes (LED), as opposed to, e.g., an edge-lit backlight which employs luminous elements at the edges of the display surface, the luminous output thereof being reflected into the display elements. However, conventional direct-lit backlights, wherein the spacing of the LED array ranges from about two to 10 LEDs per square inch, require a significant air gap (e.g., approximately 0.75 inches), adding to the bulk and weight of the display unit. Further, for the LCD unit to achieve desired response times (e.g., 20 ms or less) the liquid crystal display elements must be heated to above 0° C. This heating is typically achieved via transparent conductive materials such as indium tin oxide (ITO) embedded in the glass. However, ITO heaters are expensive, add weight, and inhibit optimal optical performance; for example, the ITO heaters are about 80% transmissive and thus greater LED luminosity (and correspondingly greater backlight power) is required to achieve the same luminance.